1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for determining material properties and, more particularly, to a system and method for the determining the specific gravity, the density, and the absorption of uncompacted bituminous paving mixtures, as well as the bulk and absolute specific gravities and absorption properties of soils and aggregates, and the bulk specific gravity, permeability, and porosity of field cores and laboratory prepared specimens of compacted bituminous material.
2. Description of Related Art
In the construction industry, knowledge of the physical characteristics of the materials to be used during various phases of the construction process is often required. Among these materials, for example, are soils, aggregates and bituminous paving mixtures. The absolute (apparent), maximum, and bulk densities (or specific gravities) of these materials, as well as the absorption thereof, generally comprise material characteristics of common interest. The determination of these values for both coarse and fine aggregates can be time consuming, since the measurement procedure often requires the test sample to be soaked in a water bath for a period of 24 hours. Such measurement methods and procedures can be found in, for example, ASTM Standard Nos. C128-97, Standard Test Method for Specific Gravity and Absorption of Fine Aggregate and C127-88, Standard Test Method for Specific Gravity and Absorption of Coarse Aggregate, which are incorporated herein by reference.
The standard method for determining the theoretical maximum specific gravity and density of bituminous paving mixtures, also referred to herein as the “Rice method” and the result of which is referred to herein as the “Rice value”, involves the use of a system comprising a water-filled pycnometer operating in conjunction with a vacuum pump and associated lines, and a mass balance. The details of this method can be found in ASTM Standard No. D2041-00, Standard Test Method for Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity and Density of Bituminous Paving Mixtures, which is also incorporated herein by reference. In asphalt paving, the Rice value for a bituminous paving mixture is commonly used as the benchmark against which the density of field compacted material is compared. However, the Rice method may be cumbersome, time-consuming, subject to inaccuracies, and destructive with respect to the sample since the necessary measurements are conducted with the sample immersed in water.
Thus, there exists a need for a system and method capable of nondestructively determining the specific gravity, absorption, and other properties of soils, aggregates, and bituminous paving mixtures. Such a system and method should desirably be capable of expeditiously producing the analysis of the sample, with minimal handling thereof, to obtain the necessary results with improved precision over commonly used methods.